VISIT NEWPORT RHODE ISLAND
Newport, Rhode Island was one of our stops on my mom and I's Six States in Seven Days New England Road trip. We had already spent the first few days in Boston and Salem, Massachusetts, and were loving New England. We traveled onto Newport before heading back to MA for my work training. Newport, is a seaside town in Rhode Island, set on Aquidneck Island. Rhode Island may be one of the smaller states in the US, but it is definitely worth a visit, even if only to Newport, a small coastal town, boasting gorgeous seaside views, stunning shorelines, sailing, and beautiful gilded mansions and architecture.
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Have you ever had a travel partner who you're really not sure what you would do without? They figure it out when you can't (or didn't have time to), they've planned things that you would never have found, or they take over while you're dealing with the rest of your life? On this particular trip that would be my mom. I traveled up to New England for some training for my business, and amongst work and some other life drama, I didn't really have time or energy to figure out what the hell I wanted to do when I was in New England. My mom was a great travel partner who had it all figured out! When we road tripped down to Rhode Island, my mom had it all sorted. We decided to stop in Newport, Rhode Island. We had lunch there, and we walk/drove around all the fancy schmancy houses. If you only have a short time in Newport, you need to do the Ocean Drive and the Cliff Walks - if you have time for a walk, of course.
Newport's Cliff Walk
A visit to Newport, Rhode Island is not complete without walking along the Cliff Walk. This 3.5 mile shoreline walk has public access and has been designated a National Recreation Trail in Rhode Island. Apart from the gorgeous coastal views, many travelers seek out this walk for its views of Newport's, and undoubtedly New England's, most beautiful mansions. Most of the cliff walk runs parallel to the coast and the gorgeous gilded mansion properties. The gilded mansions are a sight to see, and many of them host public viewings and tours. Unfortunately, we arrived later on in the afternoon and my stomach and general state of hanger won out over walking through these incredible properties. Most of the cliff-walk is an easy trail, except for Southern parts of the trail, which are rough and situated over the more rocky shoreline. The walk begins at the west end of Easton's/First Beach at Memorial Blvd., and the walk is generally pretty well mapped out along the route. It ends at Bellevue Avenue. Parking can be found either at the Memorial Blvd entrance or Narragansett Avenue. If you have a limited amount of time (like I did), your best starting point is starting at Narragansett, and walking through to Ruggles Avenue and back.
THE BREAKERS MANSION, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
If you are visiting in the Spring, like I did, you will find beautiful Cherry Blossom Trees in bloom. I absolutely love these trees, so I was very excited to see them in bloom across New England. I had to take some pictures of them and I would say this one below is by far my favorite!
What else do you think you should do while in Rhode Island? It is definitely one of the smaller states in the US, but I loved driving along the coastline and walking along the gilded mansion properties in Newport. What do you recommend doing in Rhode Island? Let me know in the comments below.
Read more about our New England Road trip here.
